FlexSolar 20W Portable Solar Panel Chargers QC3.0 18W USB-A DC Output Foldable Small Power Emergency ETFE Panels IP67 Waterproof Camping Backpacking Hiking for Cell Phone Power Banks Flashlight

I had a power outage from a severe storm this last week. I was pretty screwed in terms of keeping my devices charged because my battery banks weren’t charged. I was able to leave them out (40,000mah x2) and charge them every single day while I was at work and charge my devices with the battery banks when I got home. I didn’t have to leave my phone in the car.Solid performance, great value, durable, and works even in cloudy conditions, although not very well. In direct sunlight, it does get 20w. A very versatile little panel.

Useless. Even under direct rays of southern sun I couldn't charge my smartphone.Returned the product. Lost money.

Loops for hanging seem like a weak point. I noticed it also won’t charge if too much of a panel is blocked. For example, it has 3 panels, if you cover a portion of one with just your hand (less than 50% of 1 panel) it completely cuts the output, enough that I couldn’t even draw 500ma from it. It works well if the whole thing is in sun, but too sensitive.

Original Review:Ordered this solar panel, however it was missing the DC to USB charging cable that is supposed to be included in the package. I setup a return and had a replacement shipped which coincidentally, was also missing the advertised DC to USB charging cable. Both panels were returned due to missing advertised parts.Updated Review:The company reached out to me after reading my review and offered to send me another unit that had the missing cable. They sent out a new panel (after I had returned my first two panels) and it did have a cable this time, but it still wasn't the advertised "Dc cable to usb" that is supposed to be included, but instead just a 5.5mm x 2.1mm DC to DC cable.The reason I purchased this solar unit was specifically for the DC to USB cable advertised. Assuming this advertised cable can pass the full 15 watts from the DC input side and convert it properly to a USB output interface, it should charge a power bank much faster than using a standard USB-A to USB-C cable. To achieve that however, requires special hardware in the cable to properly step the voltage up or down. My attempts to find such a cable that takes a DC 5521 input at 15 watts and converts it to USB-C output has been unsuccessful. There are numerous cables that convert USB-C to DC, but those cables are not bidirectional and won't work to charge a power bank more rapidly. Likely they would short out the power bank if they do anything at all.It seems that the advertised DC to USB cable is likely a misprint by their marketing folks as they have not been able to provide any such cable, even after specifically reaching out to me to correct the missing cable issue. The fact that they were eager to resolve my issue is why I changed the rating from 1 star to 3 stars. Because they still can't offer what is advertised however, I cannot give this a higher rating. If they reach out to me again and can provide the correct cable, I will update my review, but right now I feel this panel is just okay. No better or worse than other panels out there.

While you do need to be careful with exposed electrical wiring and connectors, there really isn't anything else that is vulnerable to normal use. (Well you also should not sit heavy objects with uneven bottoms on top of it either - but that is not considered normal use by most people.)Nope as expected there is no built-in monitoring hardware/app to report how many actual watts are currently being delivered and thus how well panels are aligned to the sun. However, I suppose some chargeable devices might (rarely) have apps to report exact charging rate they are receiving (probably not in watts though).Also realize that charging rate is 20W maximum -- with good alignment to sun under the clear high noon weather. So in reality charging is most effective at rest and lunch stops when you can improve alignment to sun. Expect average charging to be much slower if hanging this off a backpack while walking. (Charging could be effectively zero if frequently walking in heavy shade or away from sun.) So keeping rechargeable items "topped off" is more realistic while hiking. Fully recharging depleted phones may require hours of good alignment to strong sunlight (even at 15W or better).

It does work. Maybe it would be nice if it had more power to change. I have had many different portable solar panels. The first generation was way big and had far less power. So the Is technology is getting better. Person I am happy with this panel. It does work so hopefully the Technology gets better.The panels get smaller and the power output better.

Like many, in light of weather, disasters and world conditions, I got this as an addition for my "go bag" items. It folds to a reasonable size to fit flatly in a bag, rock-sack (back pack) or suitcase without taking much room at all. I plan on testing it's effectiveness in the next few days and will update this review soon enough with results. It's pretty lightweight and simple to use and feels like it'll be durable enough for my application. I don't think I'll need a small generator for lighting and multiple other uses under the mentioned trials, just two or three of these will suffice for flashlights and phones.Next... MRE's

I had purchased two of the 20-watt panels. I was so impressed with the ability to charge on cloudy days utilizing the included 5521 DC to USB-A 5V step-down converter that I ordered two additional 20-watt panels, which did not include the step-down converter listed on the product listing as included.